GENERAL DESCRIPTION
For three decades, beginning in 1886, Childe Hassam frequently visited Appledore Island, one of several rocky outcrops off the coasts of Maine and New Hampshire. By Hassam’s first visit, the island boasted an immense resort hotel at which many East Coast elites vacationed. Hassam painted over fifty works that focused on unique characteristics of the island’s inland or the rock formations that hemmed the coast of the granite landmass. He typically painted in the early morning at low tide in order to avoid the heat of the day.
Duck Island bears witness to Hassam’s art training in France during the 1880s where he observed the French Impressionists at work. The French influence is apparent in Hassam’s brushwork. Distinct flickering strokes play with light and define form on a par with Claude Monet’s treatment of the cliffs along the coast of France.
Adapted from
Sue Canterbury, DMA label text, 2016
NOTES
Created in 1906
Sue has a photo but we cannot get it at this time. EAS tried. On-site research in 2016, which anchored most of Hassam’s paintings on Appledore to specific locations, revealed that his view of Duck Island was captured from the island’s northeast shore. Comparison of the painting’s image with the view (see the photograph at left/right/below, taken at high tide) indicates that Hassam took some artistic license for the sake of his composition. That is, he moved Duck Island, viewed beyond Sylph Rock in the distance, to the left to make it the central motif of the painting.
Sue Canterbury (part of label text on wall):
On-site research in 2016, which anchored most of Hassam’s paintings on Appledore to specific locations, revealed that his view of Duck Island was captured from the island’s northeast shore. Comparison of the painting’s image with the view (see the photograph at left/right/below, taken at high tide) indicates that Hassam took some artistic license for the sake of his composition. That is, he moved Duck Island, viewed beyond Sylph Rock in the distance, to the left to make it the central motif of the painting.
Three texts from Curatorial Remarks were moved to Text Entries 1/26/2017.
Existing text entries were reformatted to include the purpose, author, date, and language when known.
Current public notes and label copy (as they appeared 1/26/2017) have been duplicated as a text entry for archival purposes.
Most recent label added to text entries from Confluence, 1/26/2017.
Get photos of Sue's trip to this location showing Hassam's changes to landscape.
------------
The broken brushstrokes, dappled light, and unblended colors of this scene of a popular island resort off the New Hampshire coast reveal Childe Hassam’s debt to impressionism. His studies in Paris in the 1880s transformed his style.
William Keyse Rudolph, DMA Label copy, May 2006
(Found in TAZ in 2005 label document)
----------
[Passage for Pont Aven, 1897]
When Hassam returned to France in 1897, one of the locations he visited and painted was Pont-Aven
in Brittany, made famous as an artists' colony by G:mguin and his followers a decade earlier. Hassam's
painting of the village at dusk from a hillsidevantage point is a quiet homage to end-or-the-day rest and serenity. As evening fires are lit, smoke curls upw.ud from the town's many chimneys. No humans
arc visible; all are wilhin their domiciles. Rays from the sun setting behind the opposite hilltop add a
warm glow to the horizon. There remains sufficient light, however, lO bring our a vivid play of color and
reflections, and the dominant impression from the painting is indeed one of high-keyed illumination.
One can clearly see here how much Hassam had karned from the exampk of Monel, for instance,
in the thick carpet of shon, broken strokes, the iridescent blue and purple shadows in the rooftops,
and the use of deep red in the foreground to offset more distam blues and greens. And just as the French
Impressionists were fascinated by the problems of painting smoke as a changeable, transparent substance, so Hassam obviously takes delight in the wispy puffs or grey trailing upward. It is often remarked, however, that while Hassam adoptee! the subject maner :and techniques of French Impressionism, he applied them always within a more structured spatial context of solid form and traditional perspective; lhis trait also is evident here in (he ckarly drawn contours and geometrical pattern of the buildings. With an American insistence on narration, qualities of atmosphere, light, and reflection arc not allowed to dissolve too extensively the underlying identity of the subject.
One of the best known of the American Impressionists is Childe Hassam. In contrast to the French, who observed light in terms of pure color, weakening and destroying the object, Hassam's work, like that of the other American Impressionists, kept the integrity of the object and a sense of form.
Through the years Hassam simplified shapes and emphasized the flatness of his forms. His colors became brighter and in a higher key, dissolving light into short strokes of color. Like Monet, Hassam used a variety of brushstrokes in his work. In 1898 Hassam took part in an exhibition of Ten American Painters, which included the works of Twachtman and J. Alden Weir. Hassam did many paintings of New England landscapes and coastal scenes, the latter allowing the artist to study the effects of light and air on water. One of his coastal scenes, Duck Island, 1906, shows Hassam's Impressionism with the use of a higher key palette, flatter forms, and different types of brushwork. The painting also illustrates Hassam's knowledge of the work of Monet, especially the latter's painting of cliffs at Etretat and Pourville in the use of a massive rock formation in the foreground, broken into pure color. In Hassam's art, the object is firmer and not as fractured and dissolved by the light.
Excerpt from Anne Bromberg, "Description of Selected Paintings in the Collection," DMA Education files, 1987.
Debra Gibney, “Highlights of the American Collection,” in Dallas Museum of Art, 100 Years , ed. Dorothy M. Kosinski (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 2003), Pamphlet number 48.
In this coastal New England scene, Childe Hassam shows his skill as a leader of American impressionism. While using seemingly quick brushstrokes, he maintains a solidity of form in the landscape. In addition to this and other works by Childe Hassam, the bequest of Joel T. Howard in 1951 greatly enhanced the Museum's American art collection with works by artists such as George Inness, John Henry Twachtman, and Thomas Wilmer Dewing.
Gail Davitt, biographical essays, education files, 1986-1987.
Childe Hassam was an American Impressionist whose work illustrates the way Americans approached this French movement. Unlike French artists, Hassam's work retains the integrity of the object and maintains a definite sense of form. Hassam often traveled in Europe and studied at the Académie Julian in Paris in 1886, for many years an alternative training school for artists disinterested in academic style. As Hassam's style progressed, he simplified his shapes and emphasized the flatness of his colors. Hassam moved to New York and began painting his impressions of the city. He also did many paintings of the New England landscape and coastal scenes, the latter allowing him to depict the effects of light and air on water, which form an interesting contrast with Monet's coastal scenes.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Hassam, Childe (American, 1859-1935)
Cultures
Geography
Depicted location: Duck Island (island/Maine): TGN: 2299235
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1951: Joel T. Howard, Dallas, Texas
From 1951: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, bequest of Joel T. Howard [1]
[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
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WEB RESOURCES
- Childe Hassam, Biography~Learn more about Childe Hassam at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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Apply to objects where number equals 1951.41
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General Description
For three decades, beginning in 1886, Childe Hassam frequently visited Appledore Island, one of several rocky outcrops off the coasts of Maine and New Hampshire. By Hassam’s first visit, the island boasted an immense resort hotel at which many East Coast elites vacationed. Hassam painted over fifty works that focused on unique characteristics of the island’s inland or the rock formations that hemmed the coast of the granite landmass. He typically painted in the early morning at low tide in order to avoid the heat of the day.
Duck Island bears witness to Hassam’s art training in France during the 1880s where he observed the French Impressionists at work. The French influence is apparent in Hassam’s brushwork. Distinct flickering strokes play with light and define form on a par with Claude Monet’s treatment of the cliffs along the coast of France.
Adapted from
Sue Canterbury, DMA label text, 2016
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
Created in 1906
Sue has a photo but we cannot get it at this time. EAS tried. On-site research in 2016, which anchored most of Hassam’s paintings on Appledore to specific locations, revealed that his view of Duck Island was captured from the island’s northeast shore. Comparison of the painting’s image with the view (see the photograph at left/right/below, taken at high tide) indicates that Hassam took some artistic license for the sake of his composition. That is, he moved Duck Island, viewed beyond Sylph Rock in the distance, to the left to make it the central motif of the painting.
Sue Canterbury (part of label text on wall):
On-site research in 2016, which anchored most of Hassam’s paintings on Appledore to specific locations, revealed that his view of Duck Island was captured from the island’s northeast shore. Comparison of the painting’s image with the view (see the photograph at left/right/below, taken at high tide) indicates that Hassam took some artistic license for the sake of his composition. That is, he moved Duck Island, viewed beyond Sylph Rock in the distance, to the left to make it the central motif of the painting.
Three texts from Curatorial Remarks were moved to Text Entries 1/26/2017.
Existing text entries were reformatted to include the purpose, author, date, and language when known.
Current public notes and label copy (as they appeared 1/26/2017) have been duplicated as a text entry for archival purposes.
Most recent label added to text entries from Confluence, 1/26/2017.
Get photos of Sue's trip to this location showing Hassam's changes to landscape.
------------
The broken brushstrokes, dappled light, and unblended colors of this scene of a popular island resort off the New Hampshire coast reveal Childe Hassam’s debt to impressionism. His studies in Paris in the 1880s transformed his style.
William Keyse Rudolph, DMA Label copy, May 2006
(Found in TAZ in 2005 label document)
----------
[Passage for Pont Aven, 1897]
When Hassam returned to France in 1897, one of the locations he visited and painted was Pont-Aven
in Brittany, made famous as an artists' colony by G:mguin and his followers a decade earlier. Hassam's
painting of the village at dusk from a hillsidevantage point is a quiet homage to end-or-the-day rest and serenity. As evening fires are lit, smoke curls upw.ud from the town's many chimneys. No humans
arc visible; all are wilhin their domiciles. Rays from the sun setting behind the opposite hilltop add a
warm glow to the horizon. There remains sufficient light, however, lO bring our a vivid play of color and
reflections, and the dominant impression from the painting is indeed one of high-keyed illumination.
One can clearly see here how much Hassam had karned from the exampk of Monel, for instance,
in the thick carpet of shon, broken strokes, the iridescent blue and purple shadows in the rooftops,
and the use of deep red in the foreground to offset more distam blues and greens. And just as the French
Impressionists were fascinated by the problems of painting smoke as a changeable, transparent substance, so Hassam obviously takes delight in the wispy puffs or grey trailing upward. It is often remarked, however, that while Hassam adoptee! the subject maner :and techniques of French Impressionism, he applied them always within a more structured spatial context of solid form and traditional perspective; lhis trait also is evident here in (he ckarly drawn contours and geometrical pattern of the buildings. With an American insistence on narration, qualities of atmosphere, light, and reflection arc not allowed to dissolve too extensively the underlying identity of the subject.
One of the best known of the American Impressionists is Childe Hassam. In contrast to the French, who observed light in terms of pure color, weakening and destroying the object, Hassam's work, like that of the other American Impressionists, kept the integrity of the object and a sense of form.
Through the years Hassam simplified shapes and emphasized the flatness of his forms. His colors became brighter and in a higher key, dissolving light into short strokes of color. Like Monet, Hassam used a variety of brushstrokes in his work. In 1898 Hassam took part in an exhibition of Ten American Painters, which included the works of Twachtman and J. Alden Weir. Hassam did many paintings of New England landscapes and coastal scenes, the latter allowing the artist to study the effects of light and air on water. One of his coastal scenes, Duck Island, 1906, shows Hassam's Impressionism with the use of a higher key palette, flatter forms, and different types of brushwork. The painting also illustrates Hassam's knowledge of the work of Monet, especially the latter's painting of cliffs at Etretat and Pourville in the use of a massive rock formation in the foreground, broken into pure color. In Hassam's art, the object is firmer and not as fractured and dissolved by the light.
Excerpt from Anne Bromberg, "Description of Selected Paintings in the Collection," DMA Education files, 1987.
Debra Gibney, “Highlights of the American Collection,” in Dallas Museum of Art, 100 Years , ed. Dorothy M. Kosinski (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 2003), Pamphlet number 48.
In this coastal New England scene, Childe Hassam shows his skill as a leader of American impressionism. While using seemingly quick brushstrokes, he maintains a solidity of form in the landscape. In addition to this and other works by Childe Hassam, the bequest of Joel T. Howard in 1951 greatly enhanced the Museum's American art collection with works by artists such as George Inness, John Henry Twachtman, and Thomas Wilmer Dewing.
Gail Davitt, biographical essays, education files, 1986-1987.
Childe Hassam was an American Impressionist whose work illustrates the way Americans approached this French movement. Unlike French artists, Hassam's work retains the integrity of the object and maintains a definite sense of form. Hassam often traveled in Europe and studied at the Académie Julian in Paris in 1886, for many years an alternative training school for artists disinterested in academic style. As Hassam's style progressed, he simplified his shapes and emphasized the flatness of his colors. Hassam moved to New York and began painting his impressions of the city. He also did many paintings of the New England landscape and coastal scenes, the latter allowing him to depict the effects of light and air on water, which form an interesting contrast with Monet's coastal scenes.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Hassam, Childe (American, 1859-1935)
Cultures
Geography
Depicted location: Duck Island (island/Maine): TGN: 2299235
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1951: Joel T. Howard, Dallas, Texas
From 1951: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, bequest of Joel T. Howard [1]
[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
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